Mauser (Oberndorf, Germany) Model 1934 Semi-Automatic Pistol

This semi-automatic pistol features ornate engraving. The
Mauser Model 1910 was created to compete in the market for "vest
pocket" 6.35 mm (.25 ACP) pistols. In 1934, minor mechanical
improvements were made and the new model was designated Model
1934.

Peter Paul Mauser, the inventor of the Mauser bolt-action rifle
and the youngest of thirteen children, was born on June 27, 1838 in
Oberndorf, Germany. His father, Andreas Mauser, had worked as
a master gunsmith in a government firearms factory which was
located in the town, and six of his sons, including Paul, were
trained in this craft. Paul Mauser showed a natural gift for
improving existing work methods and developing new ones, as well as
for designing new tools that would enable him to work more
efficiently.

Paul was later assigned to duty as an artilleryman at the
arsenal at Ludwigsburg, where he closely studied models of
breechloading guns. He later credited this period in his life
as influential in the development of his breechloading system for
small arms. By 1859, he had left the army and returned to
work at the Royal Firearms Factory in Oberndorf. Along with
his older brother, Wilhelm, he devoted his free time to the
development of new types of firearms. Wilhelm handled the
business aspects of this venture, while Paul handled technical
work. The Mauser brothers' first invention was a small
breechloading cannon, along with the special ammunition developed
specifically for use in this gun. Aside from the initial
example, this gun was not produced due to difficulties in
production and the limited potential for profit.

The two also worked to improve the operation of the Dreyse
Needle Gun which was then widely used by German military
units. These rifles, designed by Nicholas Dreyse, employed a
locking mechanism based on a turning bolt system. Using this
idea as a starting point, Paul Mauser developed a system in which a
cam action opened and closed the action and cocked the
mainspring. Wilhelm was impressed with his brother's design,
and he successfully presented it to government and military
officials. As a result, the Mausers were given funding for
additional development work and for the purchase of
machinery. Unfortunately, however, senior military officers
saw no need to abandon recently-acquired and very adequate rifles
for this new design, even though it was superior to existing
arms.

Undaunted, Wilhelm and Paul took their rifle to the Austrian
ambassador. Although Austria had also made large financial
commitments to purchase new arms and was thus unable to convert to
the Mauser, the design met with considerable enthusiasm. The
gun was sent to Vienna for testing, and it was there that the
Mauser design came to the attention of Charles Norris, who
was a representative of the E. Remington & Sons, a noted
American manufacturer of firearms. In 1867, Norris formed a
partnership with the Mausers in hopes of securing a contract with
the French government for converting the Chassepot needle gun to a
metallic cartridge rifle.

Unsuccessful in this effort, Norris ended his association with
the brothers, but not before generating interest in the Mauser
bolt-action with officials of the Royal Prussian Shooting
School. Tests conducted there were so successful that the
brothers were invited to work at the arsenal at Spandau, near
Berlin, to work out additional improvements in their design.
On December 2, 1871, the Mauser, officially designated Infantry
Rifle Model 71, was officially adopted by the Prussian government,
thus becoming the first bolt-action metallic cartridge rifle to
enter German military service.

The brothers set up a temporary workshop in their home town and
began production to fulfill a military contract for the new
rifle. Soon, however, they expanded their operations to keep
up with increased orders from other German states, as well as from
foreign governments. The firm eventually purchased the royal
arms factory at Oberndorf, where several members of the Mauser
family had been employed. Meanwhile, Paul continued to
experiment with further improvements to his design.

These efforts resulted in the development of a repeating rifle,
designated the Infantry Rifle Model 71/84, which was officially
adopted by the army of Kaiser Wilhelm I on January 31, 1884.
In April of that year, the company became Waffenfabrik Mauser, a
stock company. In addition to their own production, Mauser
rifles were also manufactured by various government arsenals under
a royalty agreement. The company was unsuccessful in its
attempts to secure adoption of its rifles by Britain, but in
February, 1887, with the help of the Berlin firm of Ludwig Loewe
& Co., Mauser also received a contract from the Turkish
government for 500,000 9.5mm rifles and an additional 50,000
carbines.

In response to France's adoption of the Lebel 7.9mm smokeless
cartridge rifle in 1886, Germany and other nations followed
suit. Paul Mauser's preoccupation with the Turkish contract
prevented his participation in the development of a new German
service rifle. Mauser introduced a 7.65mm smokeless cartridge
rifle in 1888 for Belgian military tests. This rifle,
designated the Model 89, was adopted by Belgium, and sales were
also made to Spain, Turkey, and to several South American
countries.

Mauser continued to improve his design, with the Model 92 and
Model 95 rifles as the result of his efforts, but his greatest
success came with the Model 98. Among the Model 98's many
improvements over previous Mauser designs are the addition of a
third locking lug, a large gas shield which shields the shooter's
eyes from hot gasses in the event of a ruptured cartridge case, and
an improved firing pin which, even if broken, cannot travel forward
unless the bolt is fully closed.

The Model 98's strength, simplicity, and ease of manufacture
made it the workhorse of the German army in both World Wars, and it
has also been adopted by nations around the world. Mauser
patents have also served as a platform for other bolt-action
rifles, including the U.S./Springfield Model 1903 military
rifle. The Model 98 is still manufactured today, and many
former military models have been sporterized. In addition to his
rifle designs, Paul Mauser is also known for the famous Model 1896
"Broomhandle" semi-automatic pistol and pistol-carbine, the HSc
semi-automatic pistol, and various pocket pistols.

During the Second World War, Waffenfabrik Mauser also produced
the P-08 Luger pistol for Germany's armed forces. Peter Paul
Mauser died in May, 1914, but the Mauser name continues today as
Mauser-Werke Oberndorf Waffensysteme GmbH, a manufacturer of
bolt-action sporting rifles.